12of23Scends II
The beloved Emeryville soul food spot, which came under new ownership of the Oakland Raiders' Marshawn Lynch and underwent a name change, found new life in San Leandro when it opened in mid-March.Photo: Scend's Facebook

13of23Hamburger Mary's
Hamburger Mary's returned to the Castro in March and quickly became one of the hottest restaurants in the neighborhood.Photo: Rosa Furneaux / Special to The Chronicle

Located just a stone’s throw from his other Yountville ventures — French Laundry, Ad Hoc, Bouchon Bistro and Bouchon Bakery — it is the first foray into Mexican food for Keller, widely considered one of the world’s greatest chefs.

La Calenda is set in the former home to Hurley’s on Washington Street. Keller took over the space in March 2018 and a year later, its debut comes at a unique time in the restaurant world. Diners are more curious and more discerning about restaurants amid more questions about cultural appropriation and related issues. As such, there was a notable amount of attention heaped on who exactly would be leading La Calenda’s kitchen.

The answer: Kaelin Ulrich Trilling.

The 26-year-old chef was born and raised in Oaxaca, and is the son of Susana Trilling, who runs a cooking school in Oaxaca. Keller reportedly reached out to Susana early in the planning process of La Calenda, who then then told her son the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group was looking for a chef whose culinary background was steeped in Mexican cooking. Applying for the post made sense for the younger Trilling, who worked at Oxomoco in New York as a consultant, and at Jonathan Waxman’s Nashville restaurant Bajo Sexto Taco as executive chef.

Kaelin Trilling

Photo: David Escalante

From there, it was a whirlwind, according to Kaelin Trilling: He talked to the Keller camp, met the chef in person, went through a tasting with the Keller team, and was named the restaurant’s chef de cuisine. The whole ordeal took a few months. Even now, with the doors to the restaurant having opened a week ago in Yountville, Trilling said he’s still trying to wrap his head around what’s happening.

“I’ve always looked up to chef Keller, especially for the passion he has about the business,” Trilling said. “When I turned 18, I wanted to be in a professional kitchen. But being here, this wasn’t something that I expected to happen.”

His menu at La Calenda is built around tacos (carnitas, barbecue, al pastor, to name a few) priced at two for $12. While the menu leans heavily on Mexican influences, there are a few dishes that fall outside of that realm like beet salad and Caesar salad ($12). Larger entrees range from $22 to $29. On the beverage side, the La Calenda has a full bar with Tequila, mezcal and local wines from vintners of Mexican backgrounds.

“I have a huge amount of freedom here to make the food that I grew up traveling and eating,” Trilling said. “We have a 30-plus ingredient mole negro that’s served the way it’s supposed to be. There’s no deconstruction or anything like that. People are getting it exactly how they would in Oaxaca.”

Justin Phillips joined the San Francisco Chronicle in November 2016 as a food writer. He previously served as the City, Industry, and Gaming reporter for the American Press in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He extensively covered the growth and transformation of Southwest Louisiana’s multibillion dollar energy sector. Justin also served as a columnist for the American Press where he won a Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press Media Editors award for his weekly food column. In the past, Justin spent time working in the newsrooms of the Contra Costa Times, the Tri Valley Herald, and the Oakland Tribune. He studied journalism at Louisiana Tech University.